The invention pertains to the general field of ball-mount receivers and more particularly to a cover that is hingedly attached to a ball-mount receiver to allow the cover to be placed in either a closed position or in an open position.
The use of a vehicle to tow a trailer, boat or another vehicle has long been the most practical and easiest method. Formerly, a truck or car would be utilized for towing, due to the substantial strength and torque found in these vehicles. Most people, especially those who had the means, preferred not to use their daily driving vehicle for towing, in that when towing a large structure, such as a boat, a large amount of strain is put on the towing vehicle.
The arrival of the sport utility vehicle (SUV), along with the practice of designing and building trucks with some of the looks and amenities of modern cars, has created a vehicle suitable for towing. The SUVs and new trucks are easily capable of towing even large structures while still providing the driver and passengers with a comfortable ride.
The prevalence of this trend is most obvious in the fact that most new SUVs and trucks come with a ball-mount receiver as standard equipment.
Although this is very convenient, and allows versatility for the vehicle, many owners, even those who tow regularly, do not like the appearance of the ball mount. This is particularly true of those individuals who buy the higher-prized SUVs, which by all accounts can be considered luxury vehicles.
There have been attempts to disguise the ball-mount receiver, which include providing a removable cover that can be Placed over the ball mount. Unfortunately, these covers can be easily misplaced and require some work to attach and detach, and can create a nuisance when a person is attempting to quickly attach a structure to be towed.
If there were a means for covering a ball-mount receiver by using a device that did not require the cover to be physical removed, that was easily and conveniently placed over the ball-mount receiver and that included indicia complimentary to the vehicle or the driver, it would be very beneficial.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,871 patent discloses a swing-away hitch for trailers, and in particular boat trailers. The invention consists of sandwiching a tube (tongue of the trailer) between two plates with holes that align with tubular sleeves welded on opposite sides at the end of a hitch cover to convert it to a swing-away hitch. Pins are inserted to mount the swing-away hitch onto the swing-away hitch assembly.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,423 patent discloses a swing away hitch for a trailer and method of making same. A tubular hitch is sandwiched between top and bottom plates. Holes through the hitch and the plates are aligned with one another and a tubular casing is inserted through the holes. Thereafter, the ends of the tubular casings are xe2x80x9cswedgedxe2x80x9d or expanded by pressing bullet shaped pins into opposite ends of the casings. The swedging effect securely fastens the components. Finally, pins are inserted through the casings to mount the swing away hitch on the trailer.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,176 patent discloses a coupling device for connecting a towed vehicle to a towing vehicle in which the towed vehicle has a towing bar. There is a telescopic arm received within the towing bar with an end of the telescopic arm pivotally connected to an articulating arm. The other end of the articulating arm includes a trailer hitch adapted for connection to a trailer hitch ball. There is an anti-pivot collar which encircles the point where the telescopic arm and the articulating arm are pivotally connected. BY selectively extending the telescopic arm and moving the anti-pivot collar to permit articulation between the pivotal and telescopic arms, the coupling device can simplify connection between a towed and towing vehicle.
The flip-down ball-mount cover assembly is designed to provide a practical and aesthetic hinged cover for covering the opening on a ball-mount receiver projecting from the rear end of a vehicle. The cover remains in a closed position when a ball mount is not in use. Conversely, when a ball mount is needed, the cover is simply rotated from its closed position to an open position. In the open position the opening on the receiver is exposed to allow a ball mount to be normally attached.
In its most basic design configuration, the flip-down ball-mount assembly consists of:
A receiver cover dimensioned to encompass the opening on the ball-mount receiver. The cover has a first edge from where extends a center tab, a second edge, an outer surface, and an inner surface.
An assembly attachment collar dimensioned to fit around the rear perimeter edge of the ball-mount receiver. The collar includes a left-hinge mounting tab and a right-hinge mounting tab, and
A detent hinge attached between the left and right-hinge mounting tabs on the collar, and the center tab on the cover.
The receiver cover can also be designed to have attached to its outer surface an indicia plate which is visible from the rear of the vehicle when the cover is in its closed position. The indicia can include various logos designs and/or the manufacturer of the particular vehicle.
The detent hinge is the primary element which allows the detented cover to be placed and held in the closed position and to be rotated and held in an open position. The hinge includes a left and right resilient spacer which provide the required spring-action to allow the male detents to smoothly engage and disengage from their respective female detents.
In view of the above disclosure, it is the primary object of the invention to produce a flip-down ball-mount assembly that easily attaches to a ball-mount receiver. With the assembly attached, the assembly cover can be placed over the opening on a ball-mount receiver or the cover can be placed in an open position. In the open position the receiver opening is exposed allowing a ball mount to be inserted and attached. In addition to the primary object of the invention it is also an object of the invention to produce an assembly that:
can be designed to allow an indicia plate to be attached to the outer surface of the cover. The indicia can be made in several shapes, colors and include a variety of names, logos and the like.
when the cover is closed, debris is prevented from entering the ball-mount receiver
has a long useful life,
is cost effective from both a manufacturing and consumer points of view.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.